Hard-bodied ticks are known to carry a wide range of viruses, some of which can cause human diseases. In the U.S., the tick Amblyomma americanum is an important disease vector and its bite can cause red meat allergy. The tick has recently expanded its distribution range and its abundance is rising in many areas of the U.S. Its virome is, however, largely underexplored. In this preliminary study, we used a Nanopore MinION sequencer to detect and identify the viral fauna in nymphal ticks (n=43) collected in Statesboro, GA. Extracted DNA and RNA were analyzed separately. Nucleic acids were pooled into 6 groups according to their collection dates and barcoded accordingly. Ove
